Development and testing of a manual flax-scutching machine

Abstract

Linseed stalk is a source of good quality fibre. A major part of the produce goes as waste due to the non-availability of a suitable flax-scutching machine for efficient extraction of fibre. A manually operated machine was, therefore developed and tested. Its capacity was 3·30 kg stalk per hour with 81·13% extraction efficiency and cleanliness percentage of 60·7. The fibre obtained had the tenacity of 22·88 g/tex, fineness of 4·0 tex, colour percentage of 50·16 and lustre of 0·993. The cost of operation per hour worked out to be Rs. 6·70 for production of fibre worth Rs. 11·88 indicating its suitability for use at farmers' level for enhancing their income.